Exam 2

What is the trade-off between military and welfare spending?

RICH countries tend to spend more funds on WELFARE spending (and vice versa)

Can representative democracies add a component of direct democracy?

Yes. Example: Referendums

What are the 3 features that make a country adopt federalism?

large size, ethnic diversity, tradition of self-government

Compare US/UK Constitution

US: one document
UK: multiple documents over multiple years

US/UK limited or unlimited governments?

US: limited
UK: limited

US/UK component of direct democracy?

US: nope
UK: yes, referendums

US/UK legislature-executive relationship

US: separation of power
UK: connection of power

US/UK unitary or federal government?

US: federal
UK: unitary

what are two key concepts of the US constitution?

federalism, connection of power

the key to winning the electoral college system in the US is to....

win individual states, particularly where the two parties are competitive

in the US, is the president responsible to the legislative majority?

no

in the UK, is the prime minister responsible to the legislative majority?

yes

TRUE OR FALSE: in the US the deadlock would not happen as long as the president's party control both houses of congress

false, deadlock is always possible

what happens when the prime minister loses the vote of no confidence?

a new election is called in a short amount of time

during a re-election due to a vote of confidence, could legislative seats change?

yes

Are parties unique to democracies?

No

What was the main reason for party identification?

Believing the other party's policies was bad for the country

(T/F) American parties are more disciplined than parties in other countries

False

(T/F) American parties are NOT as disciplined as parties in other coutntries

True

What party system does the US have?

Two party system

Which party system best aligns with the principle of a separation of power?

Multi-party sytem

Why do parties and social orgs. desire power?

Parties: sake of mastery
Social orgs: advancing their own interest

What is the difficult combination?

Multi party and presidential system

In Great Britain, the executive is the cabinet, which is headed by the...

prime minister

What institutional features of the American political system make it harder for US presidents to work cooperatively with the legislature?

Separation of power (independently elected House, Senate, and President)

When can deadlock occur in the US?

At any time

UK/US government system

UK: parliament
US: presidential

_____________refers to government provisions for, or contributions to, individual needs foremployment, income, food, housing, health care, and literacy

welfare

direct democracy vs. representative democracy

direct: people vote directly
representative: elected representative vote

what are the indicators of a failed state?

political instability, lack of modern healthcare system, weak central government, no provision of basic services

(T/F) the structure of government in a failed state is prone to dramatic states over time

true

How does separation of power split the national government?

Legislative, executive, judicial

What is a political party

An organized group that seeks to elect candidates to party.

Political parties provide a context...

in which citizens can understand a complex political world

Does the prime minister have a certain time limit?

No

In a parliamentary system, what happens when the prime minister loses the vote of no confidence?

A new election is held in a short period of time

What are the two types of social cleavages?

Reinforcing, cross cutting

According to Duverger's theory, when are you likely to see many parties in a country?

many social cleavages and electoral system is proportional

What type of cleavages is more likely to cause a greater number of parties?

cross cutting cleavages

According to the logic of Duverger's theory, if the United States changed its electoral rules and adopted a permissive form of PR (with large district magnitudes), what do you predict wouldhappen?

the number of parties in the legislature would INCREASE

Is political culture generally considered a formal or an informal political institution?

Informal, it is not written in the laws

That values, attitudes, habits, and behavior patterns are important to understanding a country refers to the idea of...

political culture

Almond and Verba believed that it was possible to study culture by conducting________________and asking individuals about their feeling toward political institutions, actors, and processes. Whatis this social science research method?

survey

Robert Putnam argues that the presence of ______ explains the variation in political and economicperformance exhibited by regional governments within a country. It captures norms of reciprocityand networks of civic engagement. What is this concept?

social capital

(T/F) In disproportional electoral systems, the mechanical effect rewards large parties and punishes small ones

true

What factors facilitated the emergence of democracy?

Fall of Soviet Union, decolonization

The number of regimes located between democracies and autocracies have....

increased

Authoritarian vs totalitarian regime

Authoritarian only controls politics, totalitarian controls all aspects of life

if there is low social heterogeneity and PR how many political parties will there be?

few

what does PR (high permissiveness) mean

proportional system

what does SMDP (low permissiveness) mean

nonproportional system

which electoral system does the us have?

nonproportional

based on electoral permissiveness table, what combination is the US?

high social heterogeneity, SMDP, few parties

according to the logic of Duveger's theory, if a country with a heterogeneous society (many cleavages) switched from its current permissive electoral rules to a disproportional system, what would you expect to happen to its party system?

number of parties in legislature decrease

if a country with a homogenous population switched from disproportional system to a permissive system, what would happen

number of parties in the legislature stays the same

In a proportional electoral system, the mechanical effect rewards...

small parties

In a NONproportional electoral system, the mechanical effect rewards...

large parties

___ is a view that focuses on the institutions of each system (e.g., electoral institution, the relationship between the legislature and executive) to differentiate between democracies and autocracies

procedural view of democracy

____ helps us discern more authoritarian dictatorships from less authoritarian dictatorships.

Polity IV

what are the consequences of populism?

decline of social capital, political polarization, declining trust of representative democracy, lack of pluralism

what are features of populism

villification of political opponents, (good versus evil, lack of pluralism) anti elitism, emphasis on popular sovereignty

what is the main reason Trump is obsessed with exaggerating his crowd sizes

he derives legitimacy from mass opinion

populism is called a ___ ideology

thin

(T/F) Populism is called a "thin" ideology because it calls for kicking out the political establishment, but it does not specify what should replace it

true

What sides of the political spectrum can populism arise from?

any

What aspects of democracy does the freedom house indicator look at?

procedural, substantial

What aspects of democracy does the DD measure and Polity IV look at?

procedural

What is the main difference between the DD measure and Polity IV?

Polity IV is on a spectrum

What is the view that focuses on the outcome of democracy....

substantive

does the Polity IV indicator consider the substantive part of democracy at all?

no

what facilitated the emergence of democracy?

decolonization, fall of Soviet Union

what are the features of populism?

emphasis on popular sovereignty, anti-elite/anti-establishment sentiment, good versus evil view

what party are populist from?

any

consequences of populism

declining social capital, declining trust of elites/institutions, declining trust of representative democracy, challenges liberal democracy

why is populism a "thin ideology"

it does not specify what the outcome should be

Which of the following is NOT the feature that UK and US have in common?

a. Limited government

b. bicameral legislature

c. Non-proportional electoral system

d. The connection of power between the legislative and executive

d. The connection of power between the legislative and executive

Which of the following is a feature that makes a country adopt federalism?

a. Small size

b. Ethnic homogeneity

c. A history of local self-governance

d. A tradition of the connection of power

c. A history of local self-governance

What institutional features of the US political system make it harder for the US president to work cooperatively with the legislature?

a. The fact that the power is connected between the national government and the regional government.

b. The fact that the president is not responsible for the majority of the legislature.

c. The fact that the president is elected by the members of the House and Senate.

d. The fact that members of the legislature can call for a vote of no confidence against the US president whenever they want.

b. The fact that the president is not responsible for the majority of the legislature.

Which of the following is correct about government deadlock/shutdown?

a. The likelihood of government deadlock would be lowered if the US adopts a proportional representation electoral system.

b. In general, government deadlock is more likely to happen in parliamentary regimes than it is the case in presidential regimes.

c. In the US, the deadlock would not happen as long as the president’s party controls both houses of congress.

d. In parliamentary regimes, the disagreement between the government and congress often leads to a dissolution of the government.

d. In parliamentary regimes, the disagreement between the government and congress often leads to a dissolution of the government.

Which of the following is NOT correct about the prime minister?

a. In the parliamentary system, the prime minister controls both legislature and executive.

b. In the parliamentary system, the prime minister has no power to organize the cabinet.

c. When the prime minister loses support from the legislative majority, the legislature has the power to replace the prime minister.

d. There is no certain term limit for the prime minister.

b. In the parliamentary system, the prime minister has no power to organize the cabinet.

American parties are more disciplined than parties in other countries.
a. true

b. false

b. false

Which of the following is the so-called ‘difficult combination” that is likely to create political deadlock?

a. Presidential system & federalism

b. Parliamentary system & multi-party system

c. Presidential system & multi-party system

d. Presidential system & bicameralism

c. Presidential system & multi-party system

If a prime minister loses the vote of no confidence, the prime minister has the power to designate a new prime minister from his/her party before stepping down from power.

a. True

b. False

b. False

According to the logic of Duverger’s theory, if a very homogenous country with a majoritarian electoral system changed its electoral rules and adopted a permissive form of PR (with large district magnitudes), what do you predict would happen?

a. The government deadlock is less likely to happen than before.

b. The number of parties in the legislature would increase.

c. The number of parties in the legislature would decrease.

d. The number of parties in the legislature would remain about the same

d. The number of parties in the legislature would remain about the same

Select the dilemma that is NOT resolved in a constitution?

a. separation or connection of powers

b. limited or unlimited government

c. capitalist or socialist ideology

d. federalism or unitary government

c. capitalist or socialist ideology

According to Duverger’s theory, when are you likely to see many parties in a country?

a. When the country has many politically cross-cutting cleavages and the electoral system is proportional.

b. When the country uses a proportional representation electoral system.

c. When the country has many politically salient cleavages.

d. When the country has many politically reinforcing cleavages and the electoral system is not proportional.

a. When the country has many politically cross-cutting cleavages and the electoral system is proportional.

Which of the following is correct about measures of democracy and dictatorship?

a. Polity measure follows the substantive view of democracy.

b. Polity measure considers political culture and social capital in measuring the level of democracy.

c. Polity measure is the only measure that takes into account the procedural view of democracy.

d. Polity measure helps us discern more authoritarian dictatorships from less authoritarian dictatorships

d. Polity measure helps us discern more authoritarian dictatorships from less authoritarian dictatorships

Which of the following is a feature of populism?

a. Vilification of political opponents as inherently illegitimate

b. Populism sees the elites and the educated as the sole legitimate power.

c. Emphasis on representative democracy.

d. Distrust of poll and mass opinion

a. Vilification of political opponents as inherently illegitimate

Which of the following is INCORRECT about the trade-off between military and welfare spending?

a. State provides security through military spending and economic well-being through welfare provision.

b. Rich countries tend to allocate more for the military than they do for education and health care.

c. In poor countries, military spending tends to more seriously detract from money allocated for welfare and economic well-being.

d. Failed states provide no security and welfare for their citizens

b. Rich countries tend to allocate more for the military than they do for education and health care.

Which of the following is NOT correct?

a. In general, small parties are better off under proportional electoral systems.

b. In disproportional electoral systems, the mechanical effect rewards large parties and punishes small ones.

c. Electoral institutions influence how social divisions are translated into political parties.

d. The more reinforcing the social cleavages are, the greater the demand for distinctive representation and the greater the demand for political parties.

d. The more reinforcing the social cleavages are, the greater the demand for distinctive representation and the greater the demand for political parties.